When identity is tied to opinions, arguments ensue.
Read moreThe Process of a Process
Not worrying about light-fastness of pigment, durability of surface, or acid-free pulp was liberating. I could pull a piece of paper outta the copy machine, whip out some crusty old dollar-a-bottle Crayola craft paint, and totally mess about.
Read moreThe Key to Head Over Eels
Each interaction, each thought, shocks us like the pulse of an electric eel. How we respond determines how or if we can achieve our goals.
Read moreThe Key to The Artist
The Artist, Watercolor and Gold Enamel on Acid-Free Cotton Paper, Image Size: 28" x 19"
The Artist sheds her meat suit and dons the yoke of divine inspiration.
Read moreThe Key to Illuminated in the Current Self
Through accepting and forgiving who we were, we become able to illuminate the darkness and stand gratefully in the fullness of our current self.
Read moreThe Key to The Weight of Compassion
As the parent of an adult introvert with multiple health disorders, I spent years desperately trying to manage my child’s life. I bought things for him he didn’t need or want, offered advice he’d heard and dismissed before, made inane comparisons to the lifestyle of the physically-abled. Each time I saw him I asked hundreds of detailed questions about his health, using my status as mother to pry into every corner of his life, looking for the magic button to his wellness.
Then one day I realized that I didn’t want to talk to my parents, my brother, or sisters. I couldn’t bear the concern in their voices. I wanted their help, they wanted to help, I didn’t want them to worry, I wanted help to stop them from worrying, I wanted help to stop talking about being worried. It was like an emotional moebius strip! That’s when I snapped to what I was doing to my son. I was piling my worries, camouflaged as acts of kindness, onto the load of responsibilities his health demanded.
It’s not easy to break a 40 year habit of helicopter parenting, especially when your kid’s good health is a relative condition. However, I’m working to offer respectful, effective, empowering assistance at my child’s request.
This painting speaks of the burden we caregivers are capable of placing on someone who is mid-struggle. Though it was originally conceived and drawn more than thirty years ago it has a very special relevance to 2020. You’re welcome to interpret and apply it's message to your life using the key to the iconography below.
The Iconography of The Weight of Compassion
Poinsettia: good cheer, celebration and reassurance.
Sunflower: warmth, adoration, and dedicated love.
Freesia: friendship, thoughtfulness, innocence, and the ultimate flower of trust.
Hyacinth: playfulness.
Lilies: sympathy.
Giant straight pin: focused attention on a specific problem
Barbell: allows a person to lift heavier weights and make progress faster but they carry a higher risk of injury.
Roses: a pink rose conveys gratitude, appreciation, recognition.
Grapes: an opportunistic and expansive plant with thorny vines. Ancient Druids found it an inspiration for a relaxed, yet realistic mentality.
You can also visit the story this painting tells on my website HERE. The Weight of Compassion is available as a limited edition fine art giclée HERE.
Fighting the Futility of Trends
Vanitas incorporates social media iconography: waving hands; a variety of smiley faces; and the pervasive OMG.
Vanitas represents a girl's effort to comply with an idealized beauty proliferated through social media.
Read moreSeriously, Be Silly
Lily and Hyacinth first appeared around 1982, but weren’t painted until 2010. They’re making a limited appearance at Ghostwolf Gallery until January 31.
They embrace the ebb and flow of fortune and let it be the ever-changing soundtrack to which they do, or do not, dance.
Read moreThe Kipling Inoculation
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” - Rudyard Kipling
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” - Rudyard Kipling
Read moreGood Memories Make Good Neighbors
In the Orpheum Community Hub mural, a vista of the Sandia Mountains crowning the treetops of our beautiful Rio Grande Bosque reminds us that despite the changes a neighborhood experiences, the beauty of our city is constant.
Scroll through the images to share in the memories depicted in the Orpheum Community Hub mural.
Read moreWIP - #NorthTowneBloom
If you’re in Albuquerque, head over to the site, have lunch at the Sandia Saloon, and take a selfie! #NorthTowneBloom makes a great background. The mural is located in the shopping plaza at the northwest corner of Wyoming and Academy, between Chico’s and Whole Foods.
Check out this 13 minute process video of Nikki and I in action.
Read moreWIP - Orpheum Community Hub Mural
I was blown away when we landed this gig.
Read moreThe Inspiration for 'Emotional Security'
Feelings are like fish swimming in our subconscious mind.
Read moreThe Key to The Fool's Journey
There was a palpable motivation in me that was similar, I suppose, to what Norwegian lemmings experience.
Read moreLife as a Metaphor
That Erin wrote plainly about the truth of her life opens my heart, but that she channeled metaphors for our crippled psyches breaks it.
Read moreThe Key to Judgement Day
This painting emerged from the shadows to remind us of the complexities of human nature. It speaks to the plight of people who suffer with social anxiety disorder.
Read moreWork in Progress: Judgement Day
I felt an inexplicable fear of being in the company of humans … The ceiling in my home seemed lower than usual and the rooms, smaller. I could hear nagging mantras and was sure I could be seen through curtained windows.
Read moreThe Key to Aboulomania
The Key to Aboulomania explains the iconography of the painting. It’s more detailed than the story and can give the viewer a deeper understanding of how the story was interpreted.
Read moreAboulomania Process Video
People often ask how I create the texture in my paintings. They can't grasp the concept of washing a completed watercolor. This timelapse shows the three steps it takes to apply and rinse the top coat and to do the final detailing.
Read moreTortuga's Bosque Mural Finale
The last half of 2018 was a whirlwind as we hurried to wrap up the Tortuga Bosque mural between bouts of wind, rain, snow, and flu. I learned a lot, being part of that project, and I met and worked with some really great people.
Logan and Pax of Tortuga Gallery were kind and generous, in all stages of the project, with their time, money, treats, and open hearts. Tortuga is a hub for creatives, so Denise Weaver Ross and I had no trouble finding talented artists and support staff who volunteered food, supplies, time, and skills to help us realize our vision. I’m grateful to have met sculptor Joel Davis, a meticulous craftsman, whose insightful patter encouraged me and made time on the wobbly sky lift pass easily. Denise and I agree that the persistence of guest artists Lesley Long, Ilene Weiss, Jan Beck, and Heather Linderfelt tremendously lightened our load. Their skill and tenacity populated our mural with joyful flora and fauna that continue to attract visitors from all over the city. Behind the scenes John Stebbins photographed our beautiful wildlife depictions from which Patrick Carr, of Carr Imaging, generously produced and donated more than 75 archival quality giclées as gifts for our sponsors.
Oh my gosh… the sponsors, the Sierra Club’s Bosque Action Team, and the staff of Mural Fest all played a part in making this amazing project possible. But this huge endeavor started as a single idea by the talented and prolific Denise Weaver Ross. She designed and managed this project within which a community worked hard, and celebrated well, and left a beautiful gift for Tortuga’s neighbors.
Stop by anytime to see the Tortuga Bosque Mural, 901 Edith Blvd SE, Albuquerque NM, at the corner of Edith Blvd and Pacific street. You can’t, and shouldn’t, miss it!
Special thanks to Jeff Hartzer, of Bunnytown, for this beautiful winter wonderland shot - January 1, 2019.